China reports first African swine fever outbreak in Guangxi region

BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Tuesday it had confirmed the first outbreak of African swine fever in the Guangxi Autonomous Region in the country’s south, as the highly contagious disease spreads through the world’s largest hog herd.

The outbreak in the city of Beihai in Guangxi killed 924 animals in two farming communities with 23,555 pigs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in a statement on its website.

China has already reported more than 100 cases of the disease, which is incurable for pigs but harmless for humans, since it was first detected in the country in early August.